Class of 2015On Monday afternoon, OVS alumna Grier King sat in front of the first year journalism class at the Upper Campus, providing insight into her foray into the field of newspaper reporting and online media.
Ms. King is a sophomore at Cal State University Channel Islands, the managing editor of the school newspaper, The CI View, and a paid intern at the Ventura County Reporter.
“I invited her to come because I was hopeful that she could shed some light on this crazy field that we call journalism,” said journalism teacher Fred Alvarez.
Ms. King started off as a poet and creative writer. She attended OVS from grades nine through eleven, and had always been the “writer” in her school. While she never participated in the journalism course at OVS, she was a three-time winner of the school’s Dorothy Burr Literary Award.
But when she arrived at The CI View, they expected something different from her.
Her first article was on an art event, in which the most creative sentences were cut.
“I really worked on finding this fine balance between not being a creative writer, but still being an interesting writer,” said Ms. King.
Journalism, she explained, is not something in which you can stick to a niche.
“Try to really, really expand what you’re writing about if you want to go further with this,” she told the journalism students.
Along with her advice about broadening horizons, Ms. King offered guidance for how to interview strangers.
“Ask the same question but with different wording; a lot of times the answer will be different,” she said. “If you just listen to them talk, and respond, your story will go in different directions.”
Ms. King entertained OVS journalism students, sharing stories of her time as a poet and creative master, as well as stories of her time at The CI View, and the long hours she spends at school working on the newspaper.
“That she’s got a paid job in journalism, that she’s the managing editor of her college newspaper, I think really speaks to what kind of student and writer she is,” said Mr. Alvarez.
Grier King is a successful example to the journalism students at OVS.
“If you really love it, it’ll pay off,” Ms. King said.